As soon as Victoria reached her father's office, she began checking the documents kept there, going through each and every file of her father one by one. At that moment, the truth fairy was standing at the door, keeping watch so that if anyone came toward her father's office, she could warn Victoria in time. But even after searching thoroughly, Victoria found nothing that could tell her which project her father was currently working on—something that could explain why the attackers had gone after her father and their family.
"I'm not finding anything at all, truth fairy, that could help me understand why those attackers targeted Dad and our family. What should I do now? I really don't understand anything," Victoria said in a voice filled with sadness.
Just then, the truth fairy immediately informed Victoria that her father was on his way to the office. Hearing this, Victoria quickly put everything back in order and went to sit in the visitor lounge built inside her father's office.
"Victoria, when did you get here?" her father, Allen, asked in surprise when he saw her there.
"Not long ago, Dad—just arrived actually. I needed to deposit my last semester's college fee, so I had to take a cheque from you for two thousand dollars," Victoria said with a smile as she stood up from the sofa.
Hearing this, Victoria's father sat down on his chair, took out his chequebook from the drawer, signed a cheque for two thousand dollars, and handed it to Victoria. But just then, suddenly, Allen's secretary entered the room. She looked hurried and flustered.
"Sir, you should come and take a look at the R&D department. The artifact our team found in the ocean—we've discovered something extremely important about it," the secretary said as she moved toward Allen's desk.
But the very next moment, upon noticing Victoria there, she fell silent and quietly sat down on the chair placed near Allen's desk.
"How are you, Victoria? And how was your birthday party?" the secretary asked, looking at her.
Victoria understood that the secretary, after seeing her there, was trying to change the subject, so she too chose not to take the conversation further and replied simply, "That was pretty awesome. Mariya, you should have attended my birthday party too."
"I really wanted to come, but then an important client called, and I had to stay late at the office to work. That's why I couldn't attend the party. By the way, happy belated birthday! I had sent a gift for you to your home—did you receive it?" Secretary Mariya asked, looking at Victoria.
Victoria had come straight to the office in a hurry, and she hadn't even had breakfast. Because of that, she had no idea what gift Mariya had sent for her. Managing the situation, she said, "I woke up late this morning, and I also had to go to college, so I rushed here to get the cheque from Dad. But don't worry—I'll go home in the evening, open the present you sent, and definitely let you know. By the way, thanks a lot for the wishes and the gift."
Saying this, Victoria took the cheque from her father's hand and, after saying goodbye, walked out of the office.
"Truth fairy, I feel like Mariya definitely knows something about the new project. And she also mentioned that their team found some new artifact. We'll have to find out what that artifact actually is and what exactly Dad's R&D team has discovered about it," Victoria said softly to the truth fairy as she stepped out of her father's office.
The truth fairy nodded in agreement and replied, "Look, I'm with you now, so what do you even need to worry about? Let Mariya come outside. Then I'll sprinkle my magical dust on her wings, and after that, whatever you ask her, she'll tell you the complete truth. And afterward, she'll even forget what you asked and what she told you." Saying this, the truth fairy began to dance happily.
"Honestly, having this kind of magic in your hands isn't that bad," Victoria said. "Come on, let's hide in the washroom for now, because Mariya will definitely come there. And even if she doesn't, we'll catch her in the elevator." Saying this, Victoria took the truth fairy along and hid in the washroom, waiting for Mariya.
Meanwhile, inside Victoria's father's office, the secretary and Allen were sitting face to face, engaged in an extremely important and confidential discussion.
"Mariya, how many times have I told you to knock before entering and to be careful about what you say and where you say it? I'm already very worried because of that artifact, and I don't want Victoria to find out anything about it, because it could put her life in danger. Do one thing—go to the R&D department. I'll be coming there myself in a little while," Allen said, gesturing for Mariya to leave, and then picked up the landline to make a call.
"Why is Mariya taking so long with Dad? Why isn't she coming out yet?" Victoria whispered to the truth fairy.
"If you want, I can go and check inside your dad's office. I'll go secretly, and they won't be able to see me," the truth fairy whispered back.
But Victoria shook her head in refusal and continued to wait there, hidden. The very next moment, she saw Mariya stepping out of her father's cabin. As soon as she spotted Mariya, Victoria began pretending to wash her face in the washroom, and just as she had anticipated, Mariya entered the washroom at that very moment.
"Victoria, you're still here? You didn't go to college?" Mariya asked when she saw her.
"Yes, actually, I thought since I'm going to college, I should fix my makeup a little," Victoria replied, pretending to adjust her makeup.
"By the way, you're looking quite different today. I mean, you look really sexy and hot today. Are you going on a date with someone?" Mariya asked, fixing her lipstick as well.
"No, nothing like that. I just watched a fashion-related movie last night, so I thought I'd try giving myself a slightly modern look. By the way, what artifact were you talking about with Dad? Did our team find something?" Victoria asked, looking at Mariya through the mirror.
Hearing Victoria's question, Mariya became slightly nervous. Then, refusing casually, she said, "It's nothing special. It's just that because of the new artifact business segment your dad has started, our team found a broken vase that's of no use. I just came to inform your dad about that. Alright, I should get going now." Saying this, Mariya gathered her things and began preparing to leave the washroom.
As soon as Victoria saw Mariya leaving, she signaled to the truth fairy. The moment she got the signal, the truth fairy sprinkled the golden dust from her wings onto Mariya's head. For a short while, Mariya lost her senses and stood there silently, like a robot.
"Is this okay, truth fairy?" Victoria asked, seeing Mariya like that.
"Yes, but ask whatever you want quickly. The effect of my magic will last only five minutes," the truth fairy said.
After that, Victoria stepped closer to Mariya and said, "Mariya, tell me which artifact our team found and when. And what has the R&D team discovered about it?" Saying this, Victoria stared directly into Mariya's eyes.
The very next moment, Mariya began speaking like a robot. "Actually, our diving team, which was searching for ancient artifacts in the ocean, found a large box that was tightly bound with chains. It also had the seal of a Greek god on it, along with some writing in an ancient language. According to our R&D team, this box is connected to an ancient Greek god, and for some reason, they sealed it and buried it in the ocean so that no one could ever find it. But recently, because of the storm in the ocean, the box surfaced from the depths and was found by our team. However, our R&D team is still trying to understand and decipher the ancient language written on the box."
As soon as she finished saying this, Mariya suddenly came back to her senses.
But she didn't remember anything she had told Victoria. Those five minutes had completely vanished from her life. She bade Victoria goodbye and left from there, heading toward the R&D department. Meanwhile, Victoria was still standing inside the washroom.
"Oh, so that means those attackers were after Dad because they want that artifact. That artifact is connected to a Greek god, which means there's something inside it that perhaps the dark goddess Aethna—or rather, the 'Kill Wish'—wants. The two of us will have to find out about this artifact ourselves, and for that, I'll have to check the artifact personally," Victoria said to the truth fairy.
"So then what are we waiting for? Let's go to the R&D department right now and check it," the truth fairy replied with a smile.
"You say the strangest things sometimes, truth fairy. If my dad doesn't want me to know anything about that artifact, do you really think he'll let me go to the R&D department and examine it? We'll have to come back to this building at night, when no one can see us, and we'll also get enough time to properly check the artifact. For now, let's go to college," Victoria said. Taking the truth fairy along, she stepped out of the washroom and entered the elevator.
After that, Victoria left the office building with the truth fairy, got into her car, and drove toward college. She was extremely curious to know what was inside that box and what was written on it in the ancient language. Lost in these thoughts and talking to the truth fairy, Victoria reached college.
The moment Victoria stepped out of her car, her bold and sexy avatar left everyone present there staring in astonishment. Until now, they had always seen Victoria in glasses and boyish clothes, but today, in that sexy bodycon outfit, she looked no less than a Hollywood actress.
"Well, well, what's going on, bookworm? You've completely changed your whole look today," said her neighbor and only best friend, Rozer, as he walked up to Victoria's car.
Rozer was Rozer Watson, who lived alone in the city as a tenant at Nancy aunty's place, Victoria's neighbor. He had been there since childhood and had grown up playing alongside Victoria. His mother lived in Siberia and visited him only occasionally. Nancy aunty was a friend of Rozer's grandmother, and Rozer had been raised with her since childhood.
"Leave all that. Just tell me—do I look weird or something?" Victoria asked hesitantly, looking at Rozer.
Hearing this, Rozer stepped back a little, then looked Victoria up and down carefully before saying, "I don't know about today, but every day you definitely used to look weird, and I felt like I was hanging out with a guy. Today, you look like an apsara. But wearing such a revealing dress on the first day of the last semester, where more than half of your boobs are almost out—is that really okay?" Rozer asked, stepping closer to Victoria.
"Every day when I come wearing clothes like boys, you're the one who keeps saying that I'm a girl and I should live like one. And today, when I've come dressed like a girl—half-naked and sexy—you're giving me a lecture. Forget all that and come with me to the accounts office. I have to pay this semester's fees," Victoria said, looking at Rozer.
"Yeah, let's go. My mom hasn't sent me this semester's fees yet, so I'll deposit mine later," Rozer said, walking behind Victoria.
Anyone could tell just by looking into Rozer's eyes that, deep down, he loved Victoria. But to this day, he hadn't gathered the courage to confess his feelings to her. For Victoria, Rozer was her childhood best friend—someone she trusted deeply. Rozer feared that if Victoria rejected his proposal, she might even end their friendship and stop talking to him altogether. Because of this fear, he kept his feelings hidden.
But those feelings couldn't stay hidden from the truth fairy, who was calmly sitting on Victoria's shoulder at that moment, looking around happily as she walked with Victoria toward the accounts office.
Victoria was restlessly waiting for the night to arrive, because it was that very night when she had to return to her father's office and uncover the mystery behind the artifact.